Ball State football offers Lafayette Jeff’s Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson/J&C photo by Brent Drinkut

Lafayette Jeff incoming senior Matt Johnson isn’t sure where he’ll end up on the field as a college football player.

Yet the Broncho quarterback and recent state 100-meter dash champion knows one program thinks he’s college football material. Johnson said Ball State offered him a scholarship after he attended the Cardinals’ one-day camp on Saturday.

“I was extremely excited,” Johnson said. “I was very pumped up. I thanked them for the offer and said I would keep researching the school and see how I feel about it. I know I have a lot more offers coming my way, I hope.”

While he has little secondary experience with the Bronchos, Johnson said he has been learning the finer points of defensive back play during Sunday workouts with teammates Mitchell Sterner and Dennis “Woody” Archibald.

“They teach me some of the DB drills so I know some of the footwork and stuff,” Johnson said. “Then I go home and run and do more DB drills.”

Johnson won the 100 in :10.79 at last Friday’s track and field state championships and ran the opening leg of Jeff’s winning 400 relay. He also ran a :10.61 at the sectional.

Jeff coach Andy Kennedy said he heard from Ball State coaches that Johnson’s willingness to consider other positions was a positive.

“He understands that his best shot at getting a scholarship is probably as a slot receiver or a cornerback,” Kennedy said. A 6-foot, 185 pound cover corner is very hard to find.”

Kennedy said Johnson played only a handful of game downs in one game at cornerback last season, but that he is expected to start there as a senior. The Bronchos will still try to spell him on defense to maximize his contributions on offense.

Johnson said he plans to attend camps at Purdue, Indiana and Iowa in the near future. He visited IU on the night of the state track meet, held on the Hoosiers’ campus in Bloomington.

“I really enjoyed it,” Johnson said of his IU visit. “I liked looking around and getting the feel of the area.”

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About Nathan Baird

I have worked for the Journal & Courier since 2005 and currently cover Purdue men's basketball. I grew up in central Illinois and am a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago.
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